ENTERTAINMENT / PAY TELEVISION

TrueVisions marks name change with Premier League coup

WORANUJ MANEERUNGSEE

TrueVisions Plc, the pay-TV operator formerly known as United Broadcasting Corp, has won the exclusive rights to broadcast Premier League matches in Thailand. Supachai Chearavanont, the president and chief executive, confirmed the report, but declined to offer details.

Sources said the company beat ESPN Star, a joint venture between the US sports channel ESPN and Star TV, the Asian broadcaster owned by News Corp. The rights reportedly are for the 2007 to 2010 seasons starting this coming August.

Attaphon Na Bangxang, TrueVisions' chief programme and content officer, said the company competed for the rights to better position Premier League matches as the flagship of its sports offerings.

''It would be better if we can manage the rights. We know that we have won the rights, but now have to negotiate further details about what we will get and how we will manage them,'' he said.

He declined to comment on whether the matches would be broadcast on free TV channels.

UBC reportedly paid up to 500 million baht for the lucrative contract, and could look to repackage content through the internet and mobile-phone channels of parent True Corp.

Mr Attaphon noted that UBC also held exclusive rights to Grand Slam tennis as well as the PGA golf tour.

UBC yesterday announced it was rebranding to become TrueVisions, a move that Mr Supachai said would highlight the company's focus on the mass market and the links with True.

Programme offerings would be further segmented to meet different markets, such as Japanese viewers, he said.

A promotion tied with True's mobile-phone service helped boost television subscribers to 630,000 at the end of 2006 from 520,000 at the end of September.

Mr Supachai said similar packages would be offered tying in various telecommunications and media services from True this year to help boost TrueVisions' client base to one million this year.

Among local telecom operators, True has been the strongest proponent of ''convergence'', under which media content is repackaged together across wireless, fixed-line and broadband telecommunication channels.

Mr Supachai said TrueVisions aimed to reach 50% of Thai households, or eight million nationwide, within three years. The company plans to spend 35 million baht this year on marketing and promoting its new brand.

General News
Bangkok Post
Thursday January 25, 2007